SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) – Gold was little changed in Asia as lower crude oil prices and speculation the dollar’s decline may have paused for now reduced the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative asset.

Crude oil fell for a second day in New York on concern the U.S. is on the verge of a recession, trading at $90.96 a barrel at 2:55 p.m. Singapore time. The dollar traded at $1.4857 against the euro at the same time after reaching a two-week low of $1.4914 on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve cut the target rate for overnight lending between banks to 3 percent on Jan. 30 after a three-quarter-point emergency reduction Jan. 22.
“Gold prices should ease on profit-taking,” Katie Dean, senior economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp., said in a report on Friday. “The run in the euro looks a little overdone short-term while news of losses by two U.S. bond insurers has reignited recession fears, pushing oil futures lower.”
Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at $925.59 an ounce at 2:59 p.m. Singapore time, compared with $925.99 in New York late on Thursday.
Bullion rose to a record $936.61 an ounce Jan. 30 after the Fed rate cut. Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $16.89 an ounce.
Bullion for December delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange was 0.2 percent lower at 3,190 yen a gram ($932 an ounce) at 4 p.m. local time.
------------------------------------------South Africa
Gold may also come under pressure as the power problems in South Africa are abating, which should calm supply concerns over 11 percent of the world’s gold supply and “a whopping 78 percent of the world’s platinum supply,” ANZ’s Dean said.
Still, she expects prices to firm over the coming months “as an easing U.S. dollar offsets lower oil prices” and as nervousness about a U.S. recession and “a jittery U.S. equity market” should also give support to gold as a haven.
Bullion for June delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most active contract, was little changed at 219.73 yuan a gram ($947 an ounce) at 3 p.m. local time.
Gold for April delivery gained $2.20, or 0.2 percent, to $930.20 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at the same time.